Wines

If you're looking for profound intellectual engagement with your Chardonnay...then Frank Family is NOT for you. But if what you love is bold flavors, huge richness, and layer upon layer of ripe fruit, sweet butter, and sassy spice, then this is exactly your cup of tea.

Rich Carneros fruit is picked ripe and 100% barrel fermented in one-third each new, one-year, and two-year barrels. After fermentation, the wine remains in barrels for 9 months with regular stirring of the lees to add even more richness and creaminess. Big aromas of tropical fruit, pear and butterscotch lead to a dense, powerful, palate of caramel apple, honeysuckle, lemon curd and butter. The rich oak and butter flavors linger as a gentle pop of juiciness cleans up and pulls you back for more.

As Wine Spectator said a few years ago, "Rombauer defines the California Chardonnay style so many adore." Ripe fruit from select vineyards in cool Carneros vineyards is harvested and sorted in the dead of night to ensure it reaches the winery in perfect condition. After pressing, the juice ferments and ages 9 months in a mixture of French and American oak (one-third new), picking up buttery notes from malolactic fermentation and a touch of smoke and vanilla bean. Regular lees stirring adds a creamy texture to match the natural richness of ripe, rich, Chardonnay fruit.

One of the most exciting and brilliantly fresh Pinot Noirs we've tasted from Carneros...well, ever. This young winery working on a site important from the 1880s uses a mix of Martini and Pommard clone, picks at moderate alcohols, ferments in concrete with about 40% whole clusters and ages just 6 months in neutral oak. The results are ultra-fresh and ultra-delicious, smooth and rich in the middle with framing zips of acid up front and crisp tannin on the back. Pure, complex, textured, delicious. A winery to follow, for sure.